A Steamy Adoption

This ship's card was used as an advertising tool to drum up business on the docks for the George B. Upton, a steamer that hauled freight and passengers between Boston and Charleston after the Civil War. These cards are often illustrated with images of the ship, or with colorful views and fanciful illustrations designed to catch the eye. They almost all share the same pertinent details — the name of the freight agent, the time of the sailing, and the connections that can be made on either end of the voyage, in this case to the interior of Georgia.